Beauty and the Beast
by Zakeno
Summary: Ditched and heartbroken, Coraline finds a true friend that's been beside her all along. Summer has just begun, and the spirit of adventure is alive in both the teen's spirits. T for language. Feedback appreciated, since this is my first fanfic.


The day had been particularly boring for the blue haired girl, but finally school was about to end. Next year Coraline would be off to high school, leaving Ashland Middle School in the dust. She could hardly believe she was really done with junior high, the fact that she had only moved to Oregon less than three years ago made it all the more unbelievable.

The hum of the teacher's voice mumbled on, his voice a mere slurred jumble of words to Coraline, who really wasn't paying any attention at all. She swiped a wandering strand of hair out of her vision, concentrating on her notepad. She sketched a horrendously ugly creature hugging a girl close to it, with hearts over their heads. She smiled at her recreation of Beauty and the Beast, then looked up at the clock, gnawing on her pencil's eraser absentmindedly. Four minutes left.

Coraline slammed her head down on her desk, a little too hard. The loud _WHUMP_! resounded throughout the classroom, and all eyes stared at the 13 year old. She laughed nervously, and sheepishly murmured, "Ow… hehe.", before her head fell downward, focusing on the stripes on her shirt, and the scribbles on her jeans.

It seemed like ages before the bell finally rang, though the time that passed was only about three minutes. Coraline jumped out of her seat quickly, slinging her tan messenger bag over her shoulder. It hit her ribcage heavily, and she winced slightly. Undeterred, the teen quickly shuffled through the crowd of excited teens and tweens, slipping outside. The sun blazed into her eyes, and she blinked a few times, the lighting outdoors being extremely bright compared to the dim classroom.

Coraline glanced around, obviously looking for someone. She spotted a small group of teenage girls, cackling and gossiping about someone. One was Hispanic, her short black hair curling at the base, a dark aqua blouse not quite hiding her lilac bra. Her white short-shorts glared in the bright light of the sun, a stark difference from her tan skin. The girl standing right by her was taller, though still shorter than Coraline. She had long auburn hair that was tied into a ponytail, and wore a salmon tank top. Her skin was bruised and scratched, and she wore board shorts as if she came straight from surfing in California or Hawaii. The final girl towered over the other two, and had dirty blonde hair that curled down her face like a waterfall. It was obvious she had spent a long time with makeup that morning, and her face seemed to glow. She was blemish-free, and her skin seemed to be the perfect color. She looked 16 rather than 13, as her body had filled out already.

Coraline smiled and waved at them, trotting over happily. She stared at her own attire, a blue and black striped shirt, and ratty jeans with hearts and Xs all over them, and felt a little self-conscious. "Hey guys!" she almost sang, obviously happy as ever. "Can you believe we're graduating, Gwen?" she asked the blonde girl. In response, Gwen curled her lip, looking at the others as if giving a signal. The auburn haired girl stepped forward hesitantly, and the Hispanic girl was even more hesitant.

Gwen nodded at them. "Go on, tell her." she growled, a malicious tone in her honey voice. Coraline bit her lip, a fearful feeling beginning to lodge itself in her heart.

The auburn haired girl, named Ashley, scuffed at the cement ground with her Nike sneakers. "Um… Coraline… I dunno how to put this."

Gwen shot an icy glare at Ashley, and turned to the Hispanic girl. "Melissa? Would you like to add to that?"

Melissa gnawed on her lip, obviously not wanting to say anything, but also terrified of Gwen. "…Uh…" she stuttered, avoiding eye contact with anyone by staring at her pink flip-flops.

Gwen shoved her counterparts aside, snorting in disgust. She folded her arms across her chest, her purple-coated nails clacking together slightly. "Screw you guys." she shot at the girls before turning her rage back at Coraline. "You're out." she said flatly, her voice emotionless and cruel.

Coraline took a small step back, a knot forming in her stomach. She swallowed heavily, and stammered, "W-what…?".

Gwen sighed, and gave Coraline a look like she was nothing more than a pile of dog crap. "You're OUT. O U. T. Out. Do you want to know why you're out?" she didn't pause to wait for an answer. "Your hair looks like shit, you're dumb, you're lame as hell at sports, you wear the worst clothes on earth, you hang with WYBOURNE, and on top of all that, you're WEIRD."

Coraline just stood frozen in place, an expression on her face likening to a gazelle who's neck had just been snapped in the jaws of a ravenous lion. Gwen shoved the girl backwards nastily, and Coraline fell roughly onto the ground. She looked up at the blonde haired girl with wet eyes. Gwen waved at her and smiled, chirping a farewell and then strutting away. Ashley glanced at Coraline before skittering after Gwen like a loyal dog. Melissa lingered, obviously torn. "Sorry." she mumbled, not looking at Coraline, before following after Gwen and Ashley.

Coraline laid on the ground a few more minutes, ignoring the inquisitive glances and mocking stares other kids shot at her. Finally she got up, scurrying in the opposite direction of the parking lot. Tears ran down the girl's face, and she felt like just collapsing on the ground. She was supposed to catch the bus home, but she didn't want to risk anyone seeing her red, tearful face. After walking for about twenty minutes, the blue haired girl took a path away from the main road, and deeper into the forest, before falling on the hard ground and sobbing. She couldn't believe that her 'friends' would have done this to her. Especially at the end of the school year, a joyous occasion every year, but this time she was graduating from this school! And as a send-off she was ditched. Coraline curled into a ball and cried harder, her chest shaking with every sob.

The air began to cool as the minutes passed. The teen didn't want to move, she just lay at the side of the path, drowning in her sorrows. She remembered how they had always asked her for food, for drawings. They asked almost every day to copy her homework. Coraline now realized they had been using her. She bunched her knees up to her face, wetting them with her tears.

A rumbling sound began to ring in Coraline ears, and she turned her face upwards, looking down the path. The rumbling grew louder, and the sound of stones being scattered also came to her hearing. Coraline cursed under her breath, fumbling to get up quickly. The familiar home-made bicycle came into view, tearing towards her. She knew that he had seen her, and gave up on hiding. The girl stepped to the side, pulling her hair around so that it covered her red face. She half-rose a hand in greeting as Wybie neared her. The red bike skidded to a halt about three feet away from her.

Wybie lifted his now rusted mask and cocked his head at her, frizzy hair following his head as if it were made of stone, not hair. "What're you doing here?" he asked. "I thought you had taken the bus home." Wybie looked over his shoulder as if the school bus was right behind him.

Coraline shrugged, trying to control her voice before speaking. "I didn't want to."

"Oh… was it Gwen?" Wybie asked, looking at the ground as if he knew something.

Coraline shot her gaze up at him. "What? Why would you guess that?" she asked harshly, confused and inquisitive.

Wybie put his hands up defensively, ratty skeleton gloves on his hands like usual. "I dunno, she just seems like a total… um… 'scuse me for saying… bitch."

Coraline chuckled a little, folding her arms across her chest. "Well, you're right."

An awkward silence ensued for a few seconds, before Wybie asked worriedly, "What did she do to you?"

"I don't want to talk about it!" Coraline snapped suddenly, before realizing her harsh tone. "Sorry." she grumbled. "Can I get a ride home?"

Wybie nodded, patting the seat behind him. Coraline hopped onto the seat, wrapping her arms around him for security. The bike hummed into life as Wybie peddled, and soon the forest was a blur beside the teenagers. Coraline focused on Wybie's black sweatshirt, picking out every individual fiber in the fabric. It wasn't long before they pulled up beside the Pink Palace. Coraline swung her legs off the bike, vaulting herself onto the ground. She regained her balance, then turned back to her friend. "Bye, and thanks." she said, trying to smile at him. Wybie gave a little salute, before biking off again.

Coraline took a deep breath, watching him leave. Sadness still clawed at her gut. She grabbed her chunky cell phone out of her pocket, flipping it open. The time read 7:43. Her parents were not going to be happy. Coraline sighed and turned back towards the huge house, jogging to the front door. The girl opened the front door with a creak, and kicked off her sneakers. "I'm hoooome!" she called, her voice faltering slightly.

Mel came into the room, glaring at Coraline accusingly. "Where have you been the past two hours?"

Coraline looked at her feet, hiding her face again. "Something came up." she said simply.

"Coraline Jones. Where. Have. You. Been?" Mel asked again, more threateningly this time.

Coraline avoided eye contact, feeling her heart sink and her eyes water up again. "I don't want to talk about it. Did I miss dinner?" she inquired, trying to change the subject.

Mel folded her arms and shifted her weight to one side, looking all the more dangerous. "No dinner unless you tell me what happened."

Coraline dodged past her mother and ran up the steps. She called back, "I'll just have to go to sleep without dinner, then!" Her voice faltered a few times, making it fairly obvious she had begun to cry once again. She ran into her room, slamming the door behind her so that the walls shook. She locked the door and then threw herself onto her bed, which squeaked under her weight.

The teen cried into her pillow, blue hair sprawled about her head messily. Her mother knocked on the door a few times and called out to Coraline, but the youngster gave no answer and kept her face tightly wrapped in her pillow. After a while, she pulled the purple bedcover over her body and fell asleep, the weight of today's events heavy on her shoulders.

----

_Scritch scratch scratch._

Moonlight filtered through the window, layering Coraline's room in a silvery light. She rubbed her eyes and pulled herself out of the bed, then walked tediously over to the window. Two bright blue eyes stared at her through the glass. The cat meowed and shook himself, indicated he wanted to come in.

"Hullo." mumbled Coraline, still half asleep. She opened the window after 2 fumbling tries, and yawned. The cat invited himself in, hopping from the roof onto the floor. The girl closed the window, and whispered sarcastically, "Come on in".

The cat stretched, rubbing himself against Coraline's legs and purring. She smiled despite herself, and picked him up. "What do you want?" she asked jokingly. The girl noticed that the cat's muzzle was graying. She sighed. "I was kinda hoping you were a magical cat and would never age." she said softly, scratching him behind the ears. The cat just shrugged and continued purring.

Coraline heaved a sigh, again remembering her ordeal the previous day. "Girls suck." she acknowledged, holding the cat a little tighter. The black feline struggled a little, indicating it wanted to be put down. She granted his request, placing him beside her on the bed. Then she continued talking quietly to the cat, so as to not wake her parents up. "You know what happened yesterday?"

The cat gave her a look as if saying "Do you think I know?"

Coraline sighed again, and scratched his head. "Gwen ditched me." she muttered darkly. The cat contemplated this, then nodded slightly. He looked up at Coraline with his ears swiveled back slightly. "I know," she continued, "I suppose I should've seen it coming. Gwen's a preppy know-it-all who thinks she has the right to shove people down." Coraline paused, biting her lip. "Literally." she finished, looking outside quietly.

The cat rubbed his head against her hand comfortingly, as if to say "You won't be seeing any more of her, Coraline. You're off to high school, and she's going off to some preppy school for stuck-up freaks."

Coraline laughed at the cat, petting him a little. "I know I won't see her anymore, but it hurts to be ditched by the rest of society." The cat looked at her with his eyes narrowed slightly. He pawed at her hand. Coraline groaned. "Fine. Except Wybie." she acknowledged, moving her hand away. The cat got up and sat himself in her lap, looking up at the girl's face. Coraline stared back. "What?" The cat continued staring, intense eyes unblinking. Coraline looked away, the feline's gaze too deep for her to look at. The cat meowed and moved back into her vision stubbornly, looking back up into her hazel eyes.

"I know I haven't been hanging with him much. I have… had… new friends." she stammered guiltily, now understanding the cat's pestering. The cat narrowed his eyes again and snorted. "No, it hasn't done me much good. But at least I wasn't the laughing stock of the entire town!" she hissed, and immediately felt bad. The cat growled a little, and stood up, as if he were about to leave. Coraline held out a hand for him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it… damn… some of that Gwen attitude has worn off on me. You know I didn't mean it, cat." she pleaded quietly. The cat blinked slowly and sat down again, his back to Coraline. "Look, it's summer. Me n' Wybie always hang all summer long, ok? See? I never abandoned him." she continued, feeling remorseful.

The cat turned to look at her one last time, as if saying, "At least not completely.", before hopping out the window and into the humid summer night.

Coraline arms went limp at her sides, and she didn't bother to close the window. She realized she was still wearing her school clothes, and quickly changed into a pair of pj pants and a ratty old t-shirt. The blue-haired girl unlocked her door before climbing into bed and falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.

---

A leaf floated through the window on a soft breeze, and carried over to Coraline's sleeping face. The youngster's nose wrinkled, and she sneezed, her eyes snapping open. Her gaze wandered to the window, and she realized she hadn't closed it the night before. A few leaves were now scattered all over her room. Coraline groaned and dragged herself out of bed. She kneeled to the ground, collecting the leaves in her palm. When all the leaves were back outside, and her window was firmly shut, she rummaged through her dresser, looking for anything decent to wear. The day was warm, so she grabbed some blue capris and a light orange t-shirt. After changing, Coraline quietly snuck downstairs. Her parent's door was still shut, so she decided they were still asleep.

After finishing breakfast, a bowl of dry Cheerios and an apple, Coraline pulled on her shoes and stepped outside. She welcomed the warm touch of the sun on her face, and smiled to herself in the comfortable summer morning. After standing a few minutes in the sun, she opened her eyes again, and started walking. She decided to head into the forest, since Wybie would've already left his house hours ago. She grinned remembering how he had explained two years ago that morning was 'the best time to catch snakes'. He had said they were slower when they were just getting up, and less likely to bite. Coraline had called him an idiot and smiled and laughed.

She missed those days. Where had the carefree feeling gone? When had she started caring so much about what others thought about her? It was, after all, HER life, not theirs. She felt repentant, and wished she could've changed the path of the last year. She knew she could change it for the future anyway, change herself. She was probably making herself even more miserable with her self-consciousness… and for what? To be shoved in the dirt and kicked while she was down.

Coraline thrust those thoughts out of her head. Today was going to be good, she'd make sure of it. She looked around, the forest already pretty lively, even with the earliness of the day. Birds chirped whimsically, the trees creaked in the light breeze, and leaves rustled indistinctly. A pair of squirrels scurried overhead, sending bits of bark flying. Coraline ducked out of the way, brushing a twig out of her hair. She looked back at the squirrels grinning cheerfully, not looking where she was going.

_Fwump!_

Coraline ran right into Wybie, and they both toppled onto the ground. Coraline squeaked in surprise, then both of them burst out laughing. Coraline stood up, brushing the dust off of her shirt, still chuckling. "Why hello Wybie." she said, catching her breath.

Wybie stood too, smiling humorously. "Hey, Jonesy." he said in a sing-song voice. He signaled for her to wait a moment and he looked around for a second. "Aha! There you are!" he shouted, grabbing a little lizard. It looked terrified.

Coraline smiled despite the creature's distress. "Le 'im go, Wybie." she demanded, pointing to the ground. She tried to frown and look dramatic, but her composition broke and she started laughing again.

Wybie put on a pout charade. "Aw… c'mon Jonesy. Don't you think he'd be a great pet?" The boy raised the lizard to his face. The comparison was ridiculous enough to make Coraline burst out laughing again.

"Cat'd eat it." she pointed out.

Wybie frowned and put the lizard on the ground. It scampered off quickly. "Oh yeah." he said, sighing as if deeply saddened.

Coraline patted him on the back. "There will be other creatures to torture." she said soothingly, his lips parting in a huge smile. Wybie smiled back. This is what Coraline missed, what made her nostalgic. She had missed these simple pleasures in life.

Without thinking, she suddenly reached her arms around Wybie and held him in a tight hug.

"Um…" the boy stammered, obviously caught off guard. Coraline blushed and let him go.

"I felt like a hug." She reasoned, looking away, her face still red. Wybie chuckled and then hugged her.

"You just had to ask." he said joyously. She smiled and hugged him back. The embrace was quick and friendly, and only lasted a few seconds. Coraline broke away, looking upwards.

"It's gonna be a hot one." she remarked.

Wybie nodded. "Yup."

Coraline turned her head to one side, blue hair falling down her face. "So… what were we planning on doing today?"

Wybie shrugged. "Well I dunno about today, but tonight I rented I movie we could watch."

Coraline chuckled. "Wybourne, what fifty year old horror flick did you rent this time?"

The boy laughed nervously and answered sheepishly, "Chucky"

The blue haired girl elbowed him. "You purposefully rented something on living dolls, didn't you."

Wybie shrugged. "Pretty much." he admitted, rubbing his sore arm.

They both laughed again, and Coraline began to walk off, knowing Wybie would follow. "But there's about 10 hours to go until tonight, what do you want to do?" Her feet and his feet walked simultaneously, making a thump sound in unison as each hit the forest floor.

Wybie scratched his head absentmindedly, and replied, "I dunno, I'm good with anything really. I mean, it's summer. You couldn't put me in a bad mood if you tried."

"Heh… yeah…" Coraline admired her friend's optimism. She wished she felt that way, but presently a feeling of self-doubt still crawled in her stomach. She tried to shrug the feeling off. "Well we have to do something." she mumbled. "I don't want to be bored out of my mind all day."

Wybie shrugged. "We could go down the river and skip stones?" he suggested.

Coraline shook her head. "Naw… I personally don't want to be eaten alive by mosquitoes."

"Hmmm… what about… we could… ummm…" Wybie stuttered on, thinking aloud.

Coraline looked ahead, her hazel eyes suddenly bright with interest. She raced ahead of Wybie, pointing ahead a ways, where an old, rotting wooden cabin stood. "What's that?" she called back, stopping about 10 feet front it. She looked back to Wybie, smirking. "I think I know what we're gonna do today~" she almost sang, the spirit of adventure livening up her spirit.

The teenage boy hesitated, obviously worried. "What if there a-are wild animals in there? It looks like it's about to fall in on itself…" he stuttered, standing stock still. Coraline snorted and ran back to him, grabbing his arm and hauling him up to the cabin. She pulled some weeds and vines out of the way of the deteriorating door, and tugged at it. It made a creaking noise but stuck fast.

The girl looked irritatingly at her friend. "C'mon, Wybourne! Help me open this door!" she shouted.

Wybie held his hands behind his back and looked away. "I don't think this is a good ide- OW!" He clutched his arm, and Coraline shook her hand painfully.

"That was a little harder than I intended." she admitted, flexing her fingers. "Now help!" she demanded.

Wybie groaned, but agreed, putting his gloved hands on the rusty doorknob and tugging. With the youngster's combined strength, the door creaked open, just enough for them each to squeeze through. Coraline squinted into the darkness, wrinkling her noise. She sneezed suddenly, and Wybie jumped. After each had a good chuckle, Coraline proceeded into the dark building. The air was musty and dank, and only small bits of light filtered in through cracks and holes in the roof.

"Huh." Coraline whispered, her voice could have been easily mistaken for the wind. A glinting object caught her eye, and she kneeled down to the ground. She rose up again, holding a fading turquoise button. Dirt was caught in it, and there were various scratches and nicks in the material.

Wybie looked over her shoulder. "Whuzzat?" he mumbled, his voice barely over a whisper.

"Slightly creepy, that's what it is." Coraline whispered back, pocketing the button. She looked around. "I wonder if this place has a cellar…" she said, patting the ground with her feet. After a few minutes of tapping the ground, she heard a hollow _clunk! _The teen smiled to herself, and gave Wybie a devious look. Wybie groaned.

"C'mon Coraline, please tell me we don't have to go down there." he pleaded quietly.

"We don't." she answered, turning and heading for the door. Wybie gave a sigh of relief. "We need a flashlight first!" she shouted as they got outside again.

Wybie groaned, but followed quickly after his outgoing friend.

----

It was a few hours later now, past noon, and the sun was high in the sky. The hot summer afternoon was setting in, flies droned through the air lazily, and the morning breeze had subsided. Coraline wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead as they approached the cabin again. She stretched and sat down for a minute, tired from the hike back from the Lovat's house.

"Your grandma makes an awesome tuna salad." Coraline remarked, testing the metallic black flashlight. As she clicked it on, a strong beam of light flashed from it, bright enough to be seen in the daytime brightness. She smiled satisfactorily, and turned it off again.

"If you don't have to have it every other day, maybe." Wybie grumbled, helping Coraline to stand up again. She snickered and nodded, walking back into the cabin. The girl flicked the flashlight on, which immediately illuminated the small cabin. It was almost entirely empty, other than an old decomposing bed frame that sat lonely in the corner. Coraline found the cellar door again, about four feet to the right of the bed, looking like it was in better shape than the rest of the building, though that wasn't saying much. She motioned for Wybie to help her lift the door, and together they opened it easily. As the old, heavy wooden door hit the ground, dust flew in every direction, casing both teenagers to choke and cough. Coraline stared down into the cellar, and could see nothing. Even upon shining the flashlight down the hole, there was nothing but an icy blackness.

Both children exchanged a worried look, before Coraline broke the silence, nervously saying, "Can you throw a stone down there, Wybie?" Wybie looked around him, finding a bit of wood to throw down. He chucked it down into the darkness, and the resounding crack didn't sound out for several seconds.

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea…" he murmured, worried.

Coraline thought for a moment, then tried one of the ladder rungs with her foot. It didn't even creak. She smiled, relieved. "I'll go first." She suggested, climbing down. "You HAVE to come in after me, ok?" Wybie nodded, gnawing on his lip. Coraline descended deeper and deeper, the air temperature dropping drastically the deeper she got. It wasn't long before Wybie could no longer see her, and he began to worry. He began to clamber down after her, more concerned for her safety than his own. He was shivering by the time he met her at the bottom of the ladder.

Coraline looked at him worriedly, gripping both of his shoulders. "Wybie, are you shaking?" she asked, concerned.

Wybie smiled and shook his head, trying to steady himself. "I'm fine." he assured her. Coraline nodded and shone the light around the room.

"Holy shit…" they both murmured in unison.

Creaky old wooden shelves lined the walls, each crammed with boxes, jars, and various taxidermy creatures. But none of these strange items were what made the children stare in awe, and a bit of terror.

Completely covering the wall across from them was a long forgotten photo of the Pink Palace, in a sepia tone, and obviously dating back at least seventy years ago. And in the foreground of the photo stood a young boy with dirty blonde curls and a white shirt with suspenders, standing amidst his rather large family, an older brother with freckles and a straw hat, a little infant sister wearing a frilly home-spun dress, and an older sister with reddish hair and dark eyes. Behind the children are a man with a beard and plaid shirt, a woman with bags under her eyes who was trying to smile, and an older looking gentleman with a pipe and a leather coat.

Coraline approached the picture, remembering the younger boy's face from somewhere. She ran her hand along his face, trying to place where she had seen it. Suddenly she remembered, he was one of the ghost children she had helped to free.

The teen suddenly jumped back from the photo with her sudden realization, and quickly explained, "That's one of the ghost kids. The one that must've lived in the Pink Palace before your grandma's family moved in." Wybie was busy looking at a shelf full of button eyed rat taxidermies, each with its mouth gaping open, jagged teeth glinting in the dim light. Coraline joined him, the distant instinct to run tugging faintly at her legs. She shook it off and picked up a jar from the shelf right above the taxidermy rats. It was filled with buttons, some with scratch marks, other with faint red stains. The girl felt nauseous and put it back.

"Dude, look at this!" Wybie called, motioning for Coraline to come over. Coraline stepped over slowly, and looked over his shoulder. Wybie motioned towards the upper shelf, where a row of around a dozen taxidermy cats sat, all looking down on them with glassy blue eyes. Most were black, a few were orange, and one was pure white.

Coraline stood on her tiptoes and inspected them with much curiosity. "Do you think these are the Cat's family?" she inquired, staring into the white one's eyes.

"That would be pretty insane." Wybie answered, reaching up and touching one of their paws lightly. They were each nailed onto the shelf. The boy took his hand away. "Maybe there's always a cat around to fight the… um… I don't remember, what did you call her again?"

Coraline started scanning the lower shelves. "The Other Mother. And if that theory is true…" Coraline straightened herself and looked at Wybie. "Then there had to have been more survivors." She turned back to the shelves, and lugged a big wooden box off of the second to the lowest shelf. She pried it open, and cursed at what she found inside. Dozens of button eyes stared at her, smiling with stitched faces. Each rag doll looked like a different person, and each doll was partially burnt, torn to pieces, or just a skin, without any stuffing. Coraline shut the box quickly and took a deep breath, wondering whether the Other Mother could see her just then. She hefted the box back to where it had previously sat, and continued to search through the shelves. There was another box labeled 'families', and Coraline pulled it out into the open. She lifted the lid and filed through the photos and drawings.

Keeping her eyes fixed on the contents of the box, the teen waved Wybie over to her. "Look at these!" she whispered, showing him a photo of his grandmother's family, and a child's scrawl of a button-eyed parrot. She stared wide-eyed at a series of pictures that looked like they were taken from INSIDE the other world.

"Dang… whoever took these must've had the other mother convinced she could trust them" Coraline observed, as in every picture of the other mother she could find, she was smiling. It was a nasty, plotting smile, but a smile nonetheless. "Dude, in this picture the room is full of button eyed foxes. And in this one the house is actually an airship. These are definitely weird." she murmured, handing each to Wybie as she finished looking at them. He just nodded, deep in thought.

Coraline stared, disgusted, at another picture, shaking her head. "Ugh, I don't even want to know." she mumbled, putting the picture back in the box instead of handing it to her friend. Wybie looked up briefly, but then returned to studying the pictures. The girl carefully lifted a dusty old notebook out of the box, brushing some dirt off of its cover.

"I went to Hell…" she read aloud, scanning the cover. She flipped it open. The very first picture was of an ugly, hunchbacked man holding a beautiful woman to him. There was a heart over their heads. The next picture was of the old black key… then the man and woman again. In fact, every other picture was of 'Beauty and the Beast'. Scattered amongst the pictures of the couple were scrawls of houses and moons, and buttons. Of cats pointing away, telling everyone to run. Of rats carrying eyes, and skeletal children. Disembodied voices, crying babies, and of course the tall, thin, button eyed witch. On the last page of the yellowing notebook was a picture of two graves, one richly adorned and beautiful, the other with only a poorly constructed cross sticking haphazardly out of the fresh soil. Hearts floated over their headstones. Beneath it, scribbled in red, was 'Everyone lives happily ever after.'

"Hey, shine your flashlight on that wall." Wybie said, breaking the silence, making Coraline's heart jump. She swung the flashlight toward the wall, illuminating it. Written over and over again in red paint was 'LIAR.' It was scribbled and splashed on, as if whoever had written it was extremely pissed off. Coraline shuddered.

"Let's go." she hissed, thoroughly disturbed, and antsy to leave. Wybie got up eagerly.

"Make sure everything back in place, I don't want anyone… or anything… getting, um, mad." he recommended, fiddling with his gloves nervously. Coraline nodded and put the box back where it was, notebook inside. She looked around, making sure she had put everything back in its position. She nodded for Wybie to start up the ladder. When the girl had just begun her ascent up the old steps, she suddenly remembered the button in her pocket. She picked it out and carefully put it in one of the many jars of buttons, then, satisfied that everything was back in place, she climbed out of the strange old cellar. She shut the heavy door behind her and hurried out of the cabin, meeting Wybie outside.

"Aw, crap." the teenage girl grumbled, noticing that the sun was beginning to set. "What time is it?" she asked Wybie.

He looked at his watch, and grimaced. "Oh man, it's already 8. We were in there for 7 hours."

"Agh." Coraline said, frowning. She grabbed her cell phone and flipped it open, calling her parents. "Hey mom, yeah, yeah. What? Ok… so when'll you be back? Tomorrow, around noon? Okay… well, have fun!" She closed the phone, smiling. "They're on a 'business meeting' tonight." she said sarcastically.

Wybie looked at her, confused. "A business meeting at night?" Coraline looked at him like he was an idiot. He thought for a second. "Oh." he said finally. "Sorry I asked."

Coraline laughed and handed him her cell phone. "Call your grandma and ask if you can watch Chucky on our TV, it's bigger and we have surround sound." Wybie nodded, accepting the phone. He clumsily dialed in a number and walked away to talk. Coraline looked up at the trees, thinking about her encounter more than two years ago. She wasn't alone? The teen wondered how many had survived an encounter with the Other Mother. At least one, anyway. One who had gone completely mad… would she become like him or her? She didn't think so, after all, she had had a pretty normal life since that night… hadn't she? She thought so, anyway. Of course… there was yesterday…

She shoved that out of her mind. Coraline figured that many kids had been backstabbed like that. Wybie came trotting back, and handed Coraline her phone back. She returned it to her pocket, and looked at the boy expectantly.

"She says it's fine. I'll meet you at your house, okay? Lemme just go pick it up." he said before dashing off towards his home. Coraline watched him disappear in the brush and then turned back towards the Pink Palace, a smile on her lips. What an adventure this day had been, though a creepy one. She pondered again the things she had found there, the box of rag dolls. Maybe the beldam wasn't as successful as Coraline had previously thought. How many children had survived? Dozens? Hundreds? Or more importantly, were any of them still alive today? Then she thought of the cats. How many of them had saved a child's life? Was the reason why kids even were successfully captured by Fat Ass simply that the cat was not around?

Coraline arrived at the Pink Palace, easily bounding up the stairs in one leap. She stepped in and kicked off her shoes, and then headed into the bathroom. She washed her face and hands of dirt and grime, and changed into some PJ pants and a baggy shirt. She was in the middle of brushing her teeth when someone knocked on the door, so she quit mid-brush and ran downstairs. She threw the front door open and Wybie beamed at her, a DVD tucked under his arm.

"Ready?" he asked, still smiling. Coraline nodded and pulled him inside, shutting the door behind her. They raced into the living room, and Coraline tripped on the couch and fell onto it. They both laughed, then Wybie started up the movie. The sat side by side on the couch, and both had their eyes transfixed on the screen, but Coraline wasn't really thinking about killer dolls. Instead her mind wandered to the day before, and today. She was saddened that most of her friends had left her, but was overjoyed to have such a great friend as Wybie at her side. She glanced at him, then turned her gaze back to the movie. Then there was today. It was an interesting and creepy day, and Coraline was a little worried whether she'd sleep.

_RING!_

The blue-haired teen groaned, covering her head with the blanket that always lay beside the couch.

_RING!_

"You gonna get that?" Wybie asked, poking Coraline's arm. She grumbled and uncovered her head, yanking herself from the couch.

_RING!_

"_I'm coming!" Coraline shouted at the phone irritably, running into the kitchen. She picked it up. "Hello?" she asked._

"_It's Gwen." the phone whispered into her ear. Coraline had to struggle to keep herself from screaming at the receiver. _

"_What the hell do you want, you selfish little bitch?!" she hissed, careful to speak quietly enough that Wybie couldn't hear._

"_I'm sorry for ditching you." Gwen spat the apology with a huge amount of effort. "I wanted to invite you back in our group… on one condition." _

_Coraline was silent._

"_Ditch that ugly black kid." the line snarled._

_Coraline resisted the urge to scream at the blonde on the other end of the line. "What?!" she sufficed to saying._

"_Just look at his hunched back! And his eyes. And that nasty rat's nest he calls hair!" Gwen said cruelly. "He's a monster!" she shouted._

_Coraline paused, wiping her eyes of the angry tears. "…he's my monster." she growled before slamming the phone back onto the receiver. The teen trotted back into the living room, vaulting herself over the back of the couch._

"_Who was that?" Wybie asked._

"_Juniper Lee." Coraline said simply. Wybie gave her a strange look but shrugged._

_In about twenty minutes Coraline had succumbed to the terror of the movie, and clutched Wybie tightly to her. Wybie smiled at her with an entertained look, and she glared back at him. He hugged her comfortingly, and she calmed down in his loving grasp._

_Outside the tops of the trees swayed slightly in the warm summer breeze, and crickets chirped contentedly. A black feline figure hopped limberly onto the windowsill and smiled at the two, his heart warmed by the sight of the awkward boy holding the girl so adoringly to him. A less dramatic version of Beauty and the Beast. _


End file.
